After the success of Step by Step: The Evolution of the Boy Band, Stage West has produced its follow up Girls Just Wanna Have Fun, written by Howard Pechet and Liz Gilroy, with musical arrangements by Konrad Pluta. It’s a homage to the incredible women who have influenced music over the decades and happen to be a part of a group. The performance features everyone from Destiny’s Child, to Heart, to The Supremes. It’s a fun night of high energy and great tunes, though the production would have benefitted from a bit more context of what the women overcame and what barriers they faced in creating their music. It was a bit of a missed opportunity to not ‘interview’ the artist directly on stage. That would have been a great artistic touch.
The production starts in the 1940s with the Andrew Sisters and moves through the decades with various groups. The energy really picks up and starts to shine when The Supremes take the stage (portrayed by Malinda Carroll, Tayo Gbalajobi and Amanda De Freitas). The notes of Stop In The Name Of Love really start to get the audience moving and you can feel the enthusiasm when Heart (Eden Chiam and Zoe Theodorou) takes the stage. Everyone (or at least my table) was looking forward to the Spice Girls (April Cook, Alyssa Curto, Jade Kimaya, AJ Bridel and Evlyn O’Toole) and they didn’t disappoint, especially in costuming designed by Leslie Robison-Greene and Kierra Volk. Alysse Ernwein and Kaleigh Murphy round out the cast of 12, although it seems like a lot more.
All the musical numbers are prefaced with a fun fact about the group. How many albums they sold and how long their songs were on the charts. It would have been a bit more immersive if the production had pointed to what made these women so powerful in these moments. Director Liz Gilroy keeps it light by focusing on the music and ensuring that no artist steals the light or has all of the vocal responsibility.
The band including Jeremy Coates on bass, Jeff Fafard on drums, and Carl Janzen on guitar ensures the musical numbers are all they are meant to be, while Stephan Dickson’s choreography captures the essence of these groups. David Smith’s lighting design gives the production its celebration feel.
If you want to join Stage West in the celebration of girl groups and their amazing music, Girls Just Wanna Have Fun runs until February 2nd. More information is available online.
Photo: Zoe Theodorou and EdenChiam as Heart. Credit: John Watson